Press & Bio

About

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Photo by Jakub Vanyo 2017

As a Memphis, Tennessee-born, Northwest Mississippi-raised singer-songwriter, Matt Hectorne has a love for classic American songwriting. Finding inspiration from the likes of Tom Petty, Neil Young, and Big Star with modern flourishes of indie rock and Americana that are sometimes compared to Jason Isbell, Ryan Adams, and Damien Jurado, Hectorne continues to bridge the old and the new. A natural songsmith, Hectorne’s smooth Mid-South drawl sails over songs that pay tribute to his heroes while still finding a refreshing place in today’s musical landscape. Since releasing his first EP in 2012, as well as 2013’s mini-LP Show Your Love, Hectorne has toured extensively across the country, garnering glowing show reviews and attracting new fans who are drawn to his intimate yet universal themes.

With the release of his 2015 debut LP Days While Away, Matt Hectorne has found himself and his work in the most realized point of his young career. Songs of traveling, despondency, and learning to let go, these songs are at once highly melodic and cuttingly lyrical. Tracks that are deceptively easy-listening draw you in only to hit you over the head with stories and ruminations both profound and aware.

Days While Away is out now on Hem & Haw Recordings.

What the Press Had to Say

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“You don’t have to be told that Matt Hectorne & The Family Tree is a Nashville band — their Southern roots jut out onto the surface, evident in every aspect of their music from the sound to the lyrics. Hectorne sings of whiskey and church altars in mellow tones, backed by a solid wall of guitars and drums. The formula is simple, as it should be, but also highly inviting. True to its name, Show Your Love is a collection of Americana/folk rock love songs that flirt with country, but never fully commit — the exact opposite of how Hectorne feels about the subject of these songs. “I just wanna be a man in the frame/No I don’t care if they remember my name/I just wanna be a moment in time/When I was yours and you were mine.”

Everything on Show Your Love feels real, believable and relatable — some of the best qualities music aims for. This is meat and potatoes music, as in “slow-cooked all day long, falling to pieces, mom knows what she’s doing” meat and potatoes. That reference might not make sense to you at all if you’re not from the South, but you don’t have to be Southern at all to enjoy the easygoing warmth of Matt Hectorne & The Family Tree. Listen to “Man in the Frame” above while you sip on some (SWEET) tea.”—The Wild Honey Pie

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“In a lifetime of meandering from Memphis to Nawthwest Miss’sippi, Matt Hectorne soaked up all the black-dirt and green-leaf credibility he’d need to spin his own indie-rock catalog of here’s-what-I-know-by-now ballads— sneaky little stingers that start out with a story, and more often than not leave behind a languid lesson.”—Keith Harrelson, Moonlight on the Mountain Birmingham, AL

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“We’re big fans of Matt Hectorne over here, aside from being an all around quality guy, he makes some fantastically genuine music. With that known, he just released a new seven track album, Show Your Love, and it’s one of those back to front listens that I believe anyone could enjoy. This album is heartbreak, bittersweet relationships, and falling in all consuming infatuation – if there isn’t something you can’t relate to on this album, I’ll be impressed. In seven short songs Matt Hectorne & The Family Tree covered a good majority of the human condition.”—Yankee Calling